Sailor Moon AR Version 2 Movie Story 3
by T.M. Chiba
Summary: Please read this after Chapter 271. An interlude story set between Season 7 and the upcoming Season 8!


The Zalian ship approached the Earth slowly and drifted down into the atmosphere. Commander Sero stood amidst the large bridge of the ship, where numerous officers were manning the controls that kept the ship operating. On a view screen in front of him the Earth loomed closer and closer. Subcommander Trision turned away from a tactical readout and approached him.

"Commander Sero, we are nearly at the target, what are your orders?" Trision asked.

"I have none yet," Sero said.

"Commander?"

"I want to see what the humans do next" Sero said. "They thwarted our initial efforts to divide them, and they are a very formidable group. I will not rush into this battle. Galaxia's defeat may have opened the solar system to conquest but I will not throw it away by making irrational actions."

Trision paused, well aware that Sero had taken his simple question as a chance to remind his subordinate of his place.

"Yes Commander. Is there any idea from homeworld as to how we are supposed to conquer this world now that our original plan failed?" Trision asked.

"I believe homeworld has entrusted that decision to me fully."

"I see," Trision said. "So we are expendable then? If we fail you will take the blame."

"That was always the case," Sero said. "I do not fear it. Besides, if we fail…I shall be dead."

"I will be as well," Trision said.

"Most assuredly," Sero said. "Descend towards the city known as Tokyo!"

In the SDF's command bunker in the hills outside of Tokyo, the large blip that was the ship appeared on the radar screen. The various officers all swung into action gathering data.

"Sir, there it is," an officer said.

"Indeed," General Nagumo said staring at the projection. "When will it arrive in our airspace?"

"Based on course and speed, two hours, twenty one minutes."

"Full alert," Nagumo said. "Notify all forces!"

The Zalian ship continued to descend.

"Sir we are reading a massive amount of Earth aircraft rising towards us," one of the bridge officers said. Sero could see that for himself.

"Fools," Trision said. "Our technology is far more advanced."

"They will only be fools if they get into range of our superior weapons," Sero said.

"How long will that be?" Trision asked.

A subordinate reported it would that it would take the equivalent of four earth minutes for the first wave to be in range.

"Target the approaching forces."

"Sir, projectiles inbound!" another officer said. Rising from the Earth was a storm of missiles from all over the world.

"Retarget them!" Sero demanded.

Back in the SDF headquarters, General Patterson looked at the readouts that were flowing into his console.

"Think the decoy attack will work?" he said.

"With no idea of the range of their weapons and us relying on pure luck…I don't see how it can fail…" Nagumo replied bluntly.

Patterson grinned.

Energy blasts flew out from the Zalian ship and hit some of the missiles, however, others swept by and slammed into the hull. The Zalians kept adjusting their targeting but the original targeting of the fighters had momentarily produced a window through which the missiles could get through. Another wave of missiles, American and Russian rockets, normally used for nuclear weapons, flew out of the atmosphere and hit the top of the ship. Explosions spread across the armor as more and more missiles impacted.

"Minor damage sir…" an officer said.

"Pull us up anyway!" Sero shouted. "They're coming close to hitting some vulnerabilities!"

"Surely they can't damage us with those weapons!" Trision shouted.

"They can if enough of them hit the right place!" Sero said. Another former nuclear missile smashed into an engine and exploded. A second missile strike weakened the engine as well, and the resulting usage of it lead to a massive fireball which swept through the hull.

Alarms shrilled all over the ship.

"Contain the damage!" Sero shouted. "Can we get back out of the atmosphere!"

"Negative…our main engines are damaged!" an officer shouted.

"Descend full speed! Smash us right into their main city!" Sero shouted.

The ship picked up speed and sped downward.

"We've nearly run out of missiles!!!!" General Patterson shouted.

"It was worth a try….fire all remaining missiles or Tokyo's going to be decimated!" General Nagumo yelled. Again. He thought.

Another wave of missiles flew out and smashed into the enemy ship, but only caused it to rock and shake a bit. It maintained on its course descending straight for the center of the city.

Within the city itself, the scouts were standing atop a skyscraper, outside of the Shinjuku area, as those buildings had yet to be fully rebuilt. Sailor Mercury was studying her computer screen intently. Sailor Moon was still as a glowing aura surrounded her.

"It may be possible to knock the ship out of its current direction with an attack at the right location..." Mercury said.

"Are you serious?" Guardian Venus asked. "That ship is huge."  
"Sailor Moon's power is indescribable…" Sailor Pluto said. "Sailor Moon…"

The glowing scout's eyes opened.

"We're going to have to try what we planned," Pluto said.

Sailor Moon nodded.

Sailor Earth walked up to Mercury.

"I will scan the images that are coming through your computer into your mind and then telepathically channel them to Sailor Moon…it will be like you and her are one for a brief instant…" Earth said.

Mercury nodded.

"Wait till I give the word," the blue haired scout stated. "We have to use physics and geometry to make this work."

"How boring…" Sailor Moon muttered while keeping her focus.

"Good thing she's been slowly building her power for half the day," Guardian Pluto whispered in another part of the roof.

"It'll only be good if we don't get flattened by a flying pancake from space," Guardian Neptune replied.

The ship kept dropping slowly, but finally, Mercury was satisfied with the conditions.

"Now!"

Sailor Moon shimmered and a beam of light shot out from her energy wand. It sliced through the sky and impacted, knocking the Zalian ship back and causing it to sway as an explosion shot out from its hull. The ship drifted as the energy succeed in deflecting it. Rather than heading towards the center of the city, it crashed into the port area, slamming into a freighter and coming to rest at the edge of a long pier. More explosions rippled through it as hit and came to rest floating atop the pier.

"Such power…," Sero said in shock at what he had just witnessed. "…how can we…"

"Commander?" Trision asked.

"We have…got….get out of this place," Sero said. Fear swept across his face.

Trision looked at him in shock. Sero stared blankly ahead.

"The Commander has been injured!" Trision shouted. "Get a medical officer up here…all forces go into the city and find those scouts! I want a full damage report! Let me know when the weapons are back up!"

And the Zalian invasion force swung into action.

Back on the skyscraper, Sailor Moon was bracing herself against the side of a piece of machinery.

"I feel so weak…" she said.

"That's normal though, right?" Sailor Venus asked.

"Yes, but…" Sailor Moon said. "Normally I don't have to use that much power until the end of the battle."  
"War is always about adapting to the new enemy and not being trapped by what worked before," Sailor Uranus said.

"Well said," Guardian Earth added.

"I'll wait here with Sailor Moon," Tuxedo Mask said. "The rest of you can go deal with the enemy."

"I'd hurry…their leader has apparently lost his mind," Sailor Earth added as the thoughts swept into her mind.

Leaving Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask behind, the rest of the scouts, headed for the port.

"The enemy forces are now lead by their second in command, who apparently has less patience than his superior," Sailor Saturn said.

"I was just about to tell them that," Sailor Earth snapped.

"And yet…I did…" Saturn said.

The two shot each other icy glares.

"Tactical information we could use would be appreciated," Guardian Earth muttered.

"While it is never possible to completely scan a mind…" Sailor Earth said. "It would seem their goal is to overwhelm us with pure numbers."

"It would take a large amount of soldiers to overwhelm our powers," Sailor Jupiter said.

"They apparently believe they have them," Sailor Earth said.

"Or that regardless of whether they do or not…they have little else to use," Sailor Saturn said.

"Interesting strategy…namely involving its lack of any…" Maverick noted.

"I think they were planning on having a large ship to use," Guardian Moon said. "I guess making it explode a bit kind of forces them into plan B fairly quickly."

"Seems odd that a race so devoted to an effort to disrupt the governments of the world, would resort to such a simplistic invasion strategy," Guardian Mercury said.

"Maybe we can ask them about it when we get there," Guardian Neptune said.

The scouts landed on another rooftop in time to see thousands of soldiers swarming onto the pier.

"So which one do you want to talk to first?" Sailor Jupiter asked.

"I suppose this would be the time I mention that there are over a million people on this ship," Sailor Mercury said.

The scouts all glanced at each other.

The Zalian soldiers were racing towards them, some sort of energy weapons were in their hands.

"They don't appear to have any monster type creatures along," Sailor Mercury was saying.

"Odd strategy," Guardian Earth said.

"Apparently they didn't plan this very well," Maverick said.

"They still have one million soldiers," Sailor Uranus said. "They may not need to plan well with that many."

"Guardian Scouts…open fire…" Guardian Mercury said calmly. The group's swords all fired knocking down several of the soldiers. The Zalians hesitated a bit and returned fire. The Sailor Scouts all energized their first level attacks and sent them flying at the swarm. Another wave of soldiers were knocked to the ground, but more raced over them as the group attempted to get beyond the narrow pier. The Guardian Scouts let loose their own first level attacks and flung another group back.

"The inherent problem here is while we keep this up we'll win, but we'll also run out of energy pretty quickly," Sailor Mercury pointed out.  
"Then they'll win…" Guardian Neptune muttered.

"Once they get off the pier they'll also be able to encircle us," Guardian Mercury said.

"Why not just blow up the pier?" Sailor Jupiter said.

"Excellent suggestion…" Guardian Mercury said. "Guardian scouts…target…this point here!" He fired a sword blast and a small hole appeared in the pier. The Guardian Scouts let loose their attacks and blasted the pier to pieces, a gaping chasm between the shore and the ship formed. The Sailor Scouts sent another wave of energy flying into the soldiers who quickly hurried back into the ship.

Trision looked at the scene through the bridge view screen.

"How much engine power do we have?" he asked.

Back on the shore…

"Uh oh," Sailor Earth and Sailor Saturn said simultaneously.

"What is it?" Sailor Mars asked quickly.

"That ship is about to move," Sailor Earth said.

Seconds later the ship lurched forward propelled by a quick spurt from the engines. It smashed through the pier and the scouts hurried out of the way as it slammed into the main shore. The soldiers let out an alien battle cry and lunged onto the main land through numerous exist portals.

"Not good…" Guardian Uranus said stating the obvious.

"We can't fight a million of them at once," Guardian Pluto was saying.

"That is correct," Sailor Pluto said. "We'll have to fight a million of them over time or we don't stand a chance, or at least until Sailor Moon recovers."

"Then we need a plan," Sailor Venus said.

Several waves of soldiers were flowing into the city, attempting to locate the Sailor Scouts who had temporarily disappeared. One of the larger divisions rounded a corner and found themselves facing a small group of Guardian Scouts standing in the open. Guardian Earth, Moon Mars, Venus, and Jupiter stood facing them.

"Have you ever faced this many enemies before?" Guardian Earth asked the three former Starlights.

"Not all at once, no," Guardian Jupiter said.

"So be it," Guardian Earth said. "I assume you do know how to fight however."

"We'll be fine," Guardian Mars said.

"Very well," Guardian Earth said.

Guardian Earth and Guardian Moon walked forward. The Zalian army hesitated, unsure of why only five of their enemies faced them. The three former Starlights walked behind the former rogue scouts as they advanced. The Zalians drew their weapons and readied them.

"That's silly of them, they give up their numerical advantage by readying their weapons. They can't fire over each other," Guardian Earth said.

"Do you want to tell them that? I'm sure they're open to tactical advice," Guardian Moon replied.

"I do hope your plan is better than theirs," Guardian Jupiter said.

The Zalians fired, the five Guardian Scouts avoided the blasts and Guardian Earth opened fire back, knocking out several of the frontline, including the officer apparently in charge. Guardian Moon followed as well with a sword blast. The next line of Zalians fired as well, the Guardian scouts dodged it as well, and with a rush forward, Guardian Earth and Guardian Moon leapt into the air, bouncing off the sides of buildings and opening up a major attack simultaneously The middle of the Zalian line exploded and the two leapt into the midst of it. Within seconds they were swinging their swords through the shocked soldiers left. The three Starlights ran forward and used their own sword blasts to pick off parts of the enemy group who had not swarmed on their comrades.

"Perfect," Guardian Earth said to himself.

As all this was occurring, Sailors Mars, Jupiter, and Venus were hurrying to where Sailor Moon was resting.

"Are you sure you all need to be here?" Tuxedo Mask asked as they arrived.

"We're not going to win this fight with pure power, and if we have to, Sailor Moon will be needed," Sailor Mars said. "Besides we can't risk the enemy finding you both with her in a weakened state."

"If the others need help we can always change our plans," Sailor Jupiter said.

Sailor Moon was sitting upright looking out over the city.

"They aren't powerful…there's just so many…I don't know how to deal with that many…when the Kisenian flower attacked…it was never this much…" she trailed off.

"We already have a plan," Sailor Venus told her with a smile.

"Uranus…WORLD SHAKING!" Sailor Uranus cried and sent several thousand clumped together troops to the ground hard.

"Neptune….DEEP SUBMERGE!" Sailor Neptune added. The outer scouts were perhaps the best equipped to obliterate masses of enemies and they were using that to their advantage. Pluto leapt above the fray and let her own powerful attack go. The troops scattered and retreated unsure of what to do next.

"We can't do this forever, but I think they're getting the idea we're not going to be beaten so easily," Pluto said.

"YAHHH!!!!!!!" came a cry as another several thousand rounded a corner.

"If they did…they're very very dumb…" Uranus muttered.

Nearby Sailor Earth was deep within her thoughts. She slowly started drifting into the minds of the enemy soldiers, scanning, learning, trying to figure out what they were going to do next.

"Eureka," she said and turned to Guardian Uranus who was standing beside her. Guardian Neptune and Pluto turned away from keeping watch.

"Did you find something out?" Uranus asked.

"Yes. Now we just have to find something explosive," she added.

Guardian Mercury stared at the camera view of the troops continuing to surge out of the enemy ship. Sailor Mercury, Saturn, Maverick, and Guardian Saturn all watched the scene intently. They were hiding just a block away from the enemy ship hoping they would not be discovered before they had a chance to being the plan.

"This will be difficult, but not impossible," he said.

"Are you sure you want to split up?" Maverick asked.

"I don't see the alternative," Mercury said. "But be careful."

"I've located a hole in the ship which we should be able to get in through," Sailor Mercury said.

"Begin the distraction," Guardian Mercury said and he and Guardian Saturn walked out of the building and emerged into the open. The enemy troops failed to notice them at first, but slowly a few did and then more…the column hesitated, but before long…nearly a hundred thousand soldiers had turned their attention to the two scouts.

"And now?" Guardian Saturn asked.

"Run." Guardian Mercury said. As the mass chased after them, Sailor Mercury, Maverick, and Sailor Saturn were sneaking along behind buildings to make it to the edge of the water. They were soon diving into the bay and swimming towards the ship.

Trision stood on the bridge watching tactical reports flow across the many view screens.

"Over five hundred thousand of our soldiers are now in the city," one of the crew reported in the Zalian language. "We have estimated so far that the scouts have wounded one hundred thousand."  
"Division 1 reports heavy casualties. They were the first to leave the ship," another officer said.

"Most of Division 5 is in pursuit of Guardian Mercury and Saturn," a third officer reporter.

"I suspect they are a diversion, but if so I'm willing to find out just what they are trying to divert us from. We have more than enough troops," Trision said.

He watched as Division 2 and 3 were doing battle with a variety of the scouts in the middle of the city. Division 4 was marching along unimpeded in their efforts to join up with 2 and 3.

"Odd that they would just ignore them," Trision said.

It was at that point that the explosions appeared on the screen.

They were well positioned and designed to do as little damage to the city as possible, however, with Sailor Earth's mind scans indicating just where the soldiers were going…the trap had been set. Using as much flammable material as they could find, the Guardian Scouts had blasted apart several streets, sending the enemies tumbling down into the sewer system.

"That should disrupt them for a bit," Sailor Earth said with a slight grin and launched an attack into the center of the mass of disrupted enemies. "They really should know better than to send opponents with absolutely no protections against magic to oppose me."

"Scary…" Guardian Neptune said. "But as long as you're on our side, I'm more than happy to enjoy it."

Sailor Uranus, Neptune and Pluto had leapt to another rooftop and were surprised when a column of the enemy army swept into the building, climbing stairs after them.

"Do they realize that we can jump off this building?" Sailor Uranus asked.

"I think they're working on that as well," Sailor Neptune said as enemies seemed to be converging on the other buildings as well.

"I really hate to do this…" Sailor Pluto said. "However…logically it's the thing to do."

The other two looked at her.

"Get ready to do a lot of leaping, and follow me."

Sailor Pluto leapt into the air spun and shot her most powerful attack downward. It rippled through the twenty story building they were on and exploded sending the building spewing rubble and fire onto the surrounding buildings. The three scouts leapt to a rooftop and then another, before jumping down to the street. Another wave of enemy soldiers cut off their escape.

"Amazing how much we can destroy and yet accomplish so little," Sailor Uranus muttered. A variety of energy attacks flew through the forces in front of them and five Guardian Scouts raced towards them with Guardian Earth at the lead. They skidded to a stop next to the outer Sailors.

"I don't know about anyone else…but I'm really up for a game of pool right now," Guardian Moon said as the enemies charged shooting energy.

Back on board the enemy ship, Maverick looked around a corner, her sword drawn. Sailor Mercury and Sailor Saturn joined her.

"We can sneak in, but there's no way we're sneaking out," she warned the two.

"We know," Sailor Mercury said.

"All right…then here we go…" Maverick said and blasted open a door. The three raced into the ship's heavily damaged engine area, where a variety of crewmembers looked up in surprise, some had weapons and whirled towards them.

Sailor Saturn was faster than they were and her attack leveled everyone in the room. Mercury, using her powers and her computer set to work modifying the ships controls and with a slight grin pressed a button. The engines, what was left of them, flared to life and the ship began to rise and in the process tip over. Part of it began to sink into the ocean, and the troops on board who had been trying to exit were knocked off the ship or back inside of it.

"Now the fun part," Maverick said as the three raced from the room carefully trying to hold onto the sides of the corridor as they did. The ship was tipping slowly, giving them time to escape, but it wouldn't remain that way for long.

A wave of guards emerged from a corridor. It was Sailor Saturn that flew forward. Her Silence Glaive swung out and knocked them down. The three hurried onward.

Alarms were going off over the bridge as Trision tried to figure out what was occurring.

"We have intruders aboard," one of the officers reported.

"I had guessed…" Trision said. "Emergency power to the auxiliary thrusters, try and right us!!!!"

He turned and raced from the bridge.

The crew worked quickly to somehow get the ship righted. Something they tried worked and the ship began to slow in its tipping. Few noticed that division 5, which had been in hot pursuit of the enemies had doubled back towards the ship in the past few minutes…so when Guardian Mercury and Saturn leapt into the bridge and started swinging energy attacks in all directions they were very surprised. Soon the entire bridge crew was lying on the ground unconscious or worse.

"Oh heck…" Guardian Mercury said staring at the readout which had locked onto the three girls and the massive amount of enemies closing in on them.

"This isn't going to work if they can't get out of here," Guardian Mercury said.

"I'll stay here, and disrupt things, you go help them," Guardian Saturn said. "I'll escape once you guys do."

Mercury nodded and raced down a side hallway, turning on his communicator as he did.

The others, hurrying through the hallways of the ship were rapidly getting tired as the enemies swarmed. There was still half a million troops trying to stop them.

"You have to get to the left as fast as possible," Guardian Mercury was saying into his communicator.

"Roger that," Maverick said swinging through an enemy. The three raced to the left.

"Go straight as much as possible, just hurry….they won't be able to catch up if you do that…….oh no….speed up! NOW! Watch it! Duck!"

Trision slid out of a side corridor.

"How fortunate you arrived just where the only working express lift left goes…" the enemy officer said and sent an energy blast flying at the three who dived out of the way.

"Unlike my soldiers I am more a match for you," Trision said.

Mercury and Saturn both attacked but Trision deflected it with an energy shield and launched his own, sending the three flying back down the corridor.

Trision readied himself and built up for another attack as the three leapt up, he attacked again. Sailor Saturn blocked the attack with her own the explosion set fire to the area between the combatants.

"New plan…" Maverick began as Guardian Mercury leapt from the express lift and let his attack fly at point blank range. Trision whirled and quickly brought on his own attack, grabbing Mercury in the process. Mercury was thrown back into the wall, but Trision collapsed to the ground as the wall exploded behind him. The enemy leader tumbled down through the newly formed hole and disappeared. Guardian Mercury stood up slowly.

"We need to go…" he said weakly

Guardian Saturn got the call from Mercury and was more than happy to return after sabotaging even more of the ships systems. He hurried for the door only to be flattened by an energy wave. Sero approached him, his eyes wide with rage.

"WHY ARE YOU HERE? INTERLOPER!!!!"

Guardian Saturn was so caught off guard by the blast that he was struggling to get up, but he unleashed his energy and hit Sero dead on. Sero let out a laugh and knocked it back at him. Saturn was thrown into a control panel he hit hard and collapsed to the ground.

Sailor Saturn's eyes widened in shock.

"Guardian Saturn….is…in…" she began.

"I know….I'll get him…" Guardian Mercury said. "You have to all get out of here…"

"But…" Sailor Mercury began.

'That other enemy is coming back…you have to get back to the others…you've done well here…we'll be right there!!!" her brother shouted.

The others nodded reluctantly. Guardian Mercury leapt onto the express lift and headed back towards the bridge area. The three hurried to a hole in the ship, leapt into the water and swam away as fast as possible as the ship continued to list and sink into the water.

Trision emerged from a side corridor and looked around in surprise. He hurried for engineering.

"Perhaps it is not too late…"

Guardian Saturn dodged Sero's next blast, but weakly fell to one knee. The enemy commander let energy flow through his hands and grinned. Saturn didn't wait and slid along the ground, before rolling and leaping up, his attack got him close and he blasted Sero's face with his highest attack. Sero hit the floor hard but attacked anyway. Saturn was hit with the full attack as he leapt for the door. Guardian Mercury leapt into position and launched his own attack. Sero was unprepared and wincing from the earlier blow. The enemy commander could not defend himself from the impact. He hit a console himself and staggered back. Guardian Saturn slowly moved to the door, Guardian Mercury followed him firing a covering spread of energy. Sero growled and fired another bolt as the two slipped through the door. Mercury knocked Saturn out of the way, but was hit by a glancing blow from it. He staggered forward and leaned against the wall.

"Mercury?" Saturn asked weakly.

"I'm fine…the lift…" Mercury said and the two staggered into it.

"How do we get out of here…" Saturn said.

"I packed a raft…" Mercury muttered wincing.

Soon the two were staggering out of the lift and towards an exit hole. The enemies had apparently lost interest after the others had escaped. Mercury tossed the raft into the ocean and it inflated. The two leapt into it.

"MERCURY!!!! BUBBLES BLAST!!!!" Came a cry from the shore.

A wave of bubbles swept up from the shore and carried the raft up into the air. It floated to the ground where the other scouts were waiting.

"I hot wired a car," Maverick said and helped the two into it. The car was soon speeding away form the enemy ship quickly as a horde of enemies pursued them.

"Oh no…they're fixing it…" Sailor Saturn said staring at the ship behind her.

At that moment Trision was in the engineering room using his own powers to power the engines and right the ship from its tipping. He strained a bit as his strength drained but was confident he had succeeded.

On the bridge Sero staggered to his feet.

He stumbled over to a control panel and began typing commands.

"Main cannon charging…" the computer announced.

Sero grinned and slumped into a chair.

Trision hurried back through the ship. The disruption had kept the ship from letting the soldiers out and many had been lost in the battle and the crash into the sea before the ship had righted itself. It would take some time to get them back into position, but the attack would resume…

The car had skidded to a stop outside the combat area. Sailor Mercury was sure there was no troops around. Guardian Saturn and Guardian Mercury had pulled themselves out of the car and were leaning against it. Maverick was looking around tensely.

"I am having trouble sensing the ship's occupants," Sailor Saturn said.

"They seem to have…" Sailor Mercury began studying her computer. She was interrupted by both Guardian scouts collapsing to the ground. The three girls all hurried to their sides.

"NO!" Sailor Saturn shouted.

"No..what…" Maverick said.

"They're…….they've crossed…….." the Sailor of Death said. "They're in the other realm…."

"They're….dead………" Sailor Mercury said in shock.

Sailor Mars' and Sailor Jupiter's eyes widened as their sixth senses both warned them at the same time that something was very wrong.

"Sailor Moon….we have to go…Venus…you stay here!" Mars shouted.

Venus looked at them both with concern but nodded dutifully.

Jupiter and Mars hurried off in search of Sailor Mercury and the others.

Trision finally arrived on the bridge and found Sero sitting in a chair with a grin on his face.

"What happened….here…" Trision said.

"We are….going to win….." Sero said and began to cackle. "You mutineer!!!!"

A wave of energy flew out from the commander and blasted Trision into the wall. He sank to the ground unmoving.

Energy was flowing through the ship in preparation for the cannon firing. Sero, consumed by madness, continued to laugh.

"Oh….my…….god……" Sailor Earth said as Sero's mad plan reached her mind. "They're going to launch some sort of attack!"

She flung open her communicator.

"What's going on at that ship!!!!" She shouted.

"I'll find out," Guardian Earth said calmly and dispatched his cameras to look. "Cover me." he said to all the other scouts who were fighting off the hordes of enemies. "The energy…readings….are…massive…we've got to take cover somehow…"

He changed the setting on his communicator.

"Everyone! That ship is about to unleash some sort of massive attack…you've got to get as far away from it as possible!"

He looked at his scanners and to his shock realized just how close most of the scouts were to the ship.

"There's no way we're going to be able to avoid it…if it shoots a wide enough beam…" he said.

"Maybe it won't," Guardian Moon said.

Sailor Earth's voice came over the communicator.

"The enemy commander believes it will be able to vaporize one third of the city!" she cried. Hysterics were unusual for her which lead both Moon and Earth to frown.

"That answers that…" Guardian Moon muttered.

"Can anyone get to the ship in time to stop it???" Tuxedo Mask said into his own communicator. "Sailor Mercury? Are you there?"

There was no reply. He turned away from his communicator to see Sailor Moon standing at the edge of the roof.

"I'm afraid I won't be much help to you after this point…" she said grasping her energy wand tightly.

"You could die using your energy again so soon," Sailor Venus said.

"I will be all right," Sailor Moon said. "Eventually…"

"Serena…be careful…" Tuxedo Mask said.

Sailor Moon managed a weak smile. Sailor Moon began to build her power.

Sailor Venus opened her communicator.

"Someone tell me when that thing's about to fire for sure…" she said.

"Thirty seconds…" Sailor Earth said. "Their commander has a countdown going in his head."

"What a lunatic…" Sailor Venus said.

"Thirty seconds," Sailor Moon said.

Twenty nine seconds later…she unleashed her energy. The ship's cannon fired, but was hit with a wave of energy before it could energize. The energies exploded into each other. The ship vaporized and stray bits of energy flew throughout the city, each of the scouts had been protected as Sailor Moon's power blanketed them, but the stray explosions swept through the city, catching most of the Zalian soldiers out in the open. The energy sliced through buildings and finally dissipated. Some structures collapsed, many others stood.

Sailor Moon sank to the ground as exhaustion claimed her. Tuxedo Mask hurried to her side.

"She's alive…but…looks like she could sleep for centuries…"

Sailor Venus nodded thankfully and stared out over the city.

"She somehow saved a great deal of Tokyo…her power is just…amazing…"

She turned to her communicator.

"Everyone are you there?" she asked.

But no one answered.

The explosions had raised a great deal of mist and dust. Sailor Neptune pulled herself up off the ground and looked around, hoping to catch sight of any of the people she was with. A figure emerged out of a cloud, Sailor Pluto was holding her stomach and walking slowly.

"Pluto!" Neptune said and hurried to her side. "Are you hurt badly?"

"Yes and no," Pluto said.

"Let's get you to a hospital, maybe there we can find something to bandage you with."

"I'll be fine, I'm not dying."

"You are injured though."

"I can handle it," Pluto said and stumbled. Neptune caught her and took her under one arm.

"Let's go, one step at a time," Neptune said.

A car sped up next to them. The window rolled down and Sailor Uranus poked her head out.

"How are you both?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Pluto said.

"Liar," Neptune said. "We need to get Pluto somewhere where we can patch her up."

"I haven't seen an alien anywhere…it's possible they've been beaten," Uranus said. "Let's go, but be careful."

The car was soon speeding in search of a hospital.

"The communicators aren't working," Uranus said. "My guess is that the explosion caused some sort of interference, as opposed to everyone we else we know being killed or unconscious."

"Let's hope," Neptune said.

Miles away several SDF officers were emerging from their underground base and staring down at the city which had been obscured by a cloud.

"When all the monitors stopped working I had feared the worst," General Nagumo said solemnly. "Is there any way to know what happened down there?"  
"Not without going I'd guess, we're trying to get camera and satellite shots, there is some sort of interference preventing us from seeing anything other than with our eyes," General Patterson said.

"Typical," Nagumo said.

"Sir…the enemy ship appears to be gone…" Colonel Mizuno said.

"Or is it hiding somehow?" Nagumo asked.

"It is difficult to know," Mizuno said. "Nonetheless it is out of sight."

"I've had enough waiting…ready the troops…we're going in…and if there's an enemy there…we'll meet it…" Nagumo said.

The SDF was soon headed down the mountain in a convoy of trucks.

"Mars..come on wake up!" Sailor Jupiter was muttering. Mars slowly awoke to find herself lying on top of the green clad scout.

"Ooo..sorry," Mars said and rolled off and slowly stood up. She felt slightly dizzy but her balance returned quickly.

"You ok?" Jupiter asked.

"Lets hope," Mars said. "You?"  
"I think so…" Jupiter said.

"We were so close to the others…" Mars said. "When the explosion hit."

"Mercury!" Jupiter yelled.

"Saturn!" Mars shouted.

"Here…" came the faint voice of Sailor Saturn. The dust was clearing slightly. They made their way towards the voice and found Sailor Mercury, Saturn, and Maverick hunched over the two limp forms of Guardian Mercury and Guardian Saturn.

"What happened…." Jupiter stammered.

Elsewhere amidst the dust cloud, Guardian Earth and Guardian Moon were cautiously examining their surroundings.

"This interference is annoying," Earth said trying to get some sort of reading from his cameras.

"Typical," Moon said.

"Halt…who goes there!" came a voice. The two took a defensive posture.

"Perhaps you could answer us first?" Guardian Moon said aiming his sword.

"Aye…perhaps…" Guardian Neptune said advancing out of the mist, the other guardian scouts emerged as well.

"How did you all manage to end up in the same place?" Guardian Moon asked.

"I have no idea," Guardian Uranus replied.

"Trust me, we are as annoyed about it as you are," Guardian Mars added.

"Where's Sailor Earth?" Guardian Earth asked abruptly.

"We were wondering the same thing," Guardian Uranus said.

"You were obviously separated then," Guardian Moon said.

"There was a boom, here we are, there they are…we looked for her, we didn't see her," Guardian Neptune said.

"I'd like to start looking for her…there could still be enemies about and none of us should be out alone," Guardian Earth said.

"Let's find her quickly, I'd like to know how the others are doing," Guardian Jupiter said.

"The sooner we start the sooner we finish," Guardian Moon said.

"What…is…that…" Guardian Pluto asked pointing upward. Shadows were flying through the mist…winged figures…barely visible…above them.

"Down…" Guardian Earth said. The group all crouched. Several more shadows passed.

When the last of the shadows had gone, the Guardian Scouts all looked at each other.

"Change of plans?" Guardian Neptune asked.

"Definitely…I don't know who they are, but I want to know…" Guardian Earth said and the scouts all took off in pursuit of the shadows.

Sailor Venus stood alone in her section of the rooftop. Sailor Moon lay a few feet away nearly comatose. Tuxedo Mask knelt keeping watch over her.

I hope this is over soon. Venus thought. Sailor Moon certainly can't take much more, and the rest of us are probably getting close to the limit to.

Unfortunately, her thought processes were interrupted as a group of figures drifted up out of the mist. They were slightly familiar, they all had wings, and resembled a group of enemies they had fought before.

"Sailor…Animates…" Venus said to herself in surprise. "Why are they here?"

"What?" Tuxedo Mask said bolting up.

"Get ready, we're under attack!" Venus shouted.

The group of enemies glided up towards the rooftop, energy was glowing in their hands.

"Any chance they're not here to attack us?" Tuxedo Mask asked.

The first energy blast flying towards them answered the question.

"Venus…..Love Chain…Encircle!!!"

The energy chain flew out and wrapped around one of the animate creatures, Venus swung it into another and the two went tumbling towards the ground. But several more came at her spewing energy. She back flipped and did a sequence of flips out of the way, twisting to a stop in front of Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon. The rest of the enemies flew up over the rooftop. Tuxedo Mask flung a barrage of roses and connected with two of them, another was knocked aside by a well placed Crescent Beam. The rest banked away and let the wind currents take them out of the reach of the two.

"Where did they come from?" Tuxedo Mask said.

"I don't know…sometimes it's like we live in an absurdly formulaic anime," Sailor Venus said.

Tuxedo Mask grinned.

"You noticed that too?" he asked.

"I did, though Amy gave me the original idea…she can be very strange at times," Venus said.

The enemies had banked back towards the rooftop energy swirling in their hands.

"That peaceful interlude is over…" Venus muttered. "Stay with Sailor Moon, no matter what they do…leave them to me…"

And she readied herself to do battle again.

Sailor Pluto winced as Neptune wrapped some bandages around her torso.

"We may heal quickly…but not fast enough," Pluto muttered.

"Looks like it was just a big cut…more scary looking than it actually is," Neptune said.

"I'm glad," Pluto said. "I'm already feeling stronger…though still those attacks really take a lot of out of us."

The other two nodded.

"We shouldn't waste any more time here though," Pluto said standing and wincing some more.

"Don't push yourself, you're vulnerable with that wound," Neptune said.

"I'm vulnerable without that wound too," Pluto said.

"Yes but…" Neptune began.

"I'll get the car," Uranus said.

Several of the winged enemies dived down towards her, it was obvious they were gliding, but they were very good at it. Venus let loose another attack, and flung another enemy into the side of a nearby building. She was hit with three barrages from other enemies and staggered back. Out of the corner of her eye, she could she Tuxedo Mask flinging roses at a few other opponents who were diving in towards them. She winced and spun firing another bolt of her crescent beam. One of the enemies veered away in pain and Tuxedo Mask swatted a second away with his staff. She didn't know just how many there were. It didn't seem like that many, but they were either recovering quickly, or there were more than she had seen.

She was hit again and spun hitting her assailant with the love chain. She slammed the winged enemy into the rooftop and blasted it with a full attack head on. The creature screamed and vaporized. The others let out a battle cry and all turned towards her. Tuxedo Mask let an array of roses go and they smashed through a second who also vaporized. The rest came on quickly and shot energy at Venus, who narrowly avoided some but was hit very hard by the rest. Tuxedo Mask winced and prepared another rose barrage.

"There's just too many of them for her to fight..." he said to himself. Venus whirled and fired a crescent beam at the closest enemy. It spiraled back and hit a second. She slid to the ground near Tuxedo Mask.

"Pick up Sailor Moon and get her into the building, they won't be nearly as dangerous if they can't fly," Venus said.

The obviousness of this idea had escaped both of them until now.

"I'm going to stall, I'll be right behind you," Venus said and whirled unleashing her largest attack in the direction of the enemies. A third vaporized as the rest swept in towards her pelting her with more attacks.

Tuxedo Mask carried Sailor Moon off the roof and down some stairs. The winged enemies were a bit surprised and banked away for a moment. Venus, covered in bruises stared them down.

I hope I'm right about this. She thought. The pain was increasing. She had done all she could to hide from Tuxedo Mask just how hurt she felt.

The winged enemies glided around again. She fired her crescent beam, which could do more than wound them. This shot connected with a wing and sent one of them spiraling out of control downward.

Venus wasn't entirely sure if she should be facing them, but also figured that as long as they wanted her, Tuxedo Mask had time to escape and despite the earlier confusion she was fairly sure most if not all of them were focusing on her.

They swept in again. She powered up another attack and vaporized a fourth, but was hit by seven different energy blasts. Weakly she stumbled through the door of the roof and down the steps of a darkened stairwell. The enemies glided away.

Venus leaned against the side of the stairwell for a moment and then slowly began to descend.

I can't do any more good out there…she thought. An enemy appeared at the top of the stairs seconds later. She turned and attacked again. The enemy was blasted backwards and collapsed in a heap on the rooftop. Venus kept descending.

Tuxedo Mask was making relatively good time considering he was carrying someone, and he had made it halfway down the stairs when he heard the shaking above him. Bits of wall came tumbling down the stairs. He looked up worriedly but kept going.

Sailor Venus stared down at the two enemies that had blasted through a doorway several floors down and were now staring up at her.

They're resourceful…great… She thought.

Energy flew up at her. Venus rolled out of the way, and fired another crescent beam, wincing as she did so. The two enemies avoided the attack and fired back, this time blasting pieces of stairs away. Another energy blast flew at her from above. Venus whirled to avoid it.

Wincing even more than before she leapt upward and charged the enemy at the top of the stairs even as the steps below her was blasted away. The animate type in her way raised an energy fist. Venus slid under it and kicked the villain in the legs. The creature stumbled away. Venus rolled forward and launched a love chain swinging the enemy down into the stairwell and in the process blasting the top to pieces. She then spun as several more winged fiends closed in on her.

Tuxedo Mask had just made it to the bottom of the stairs when he heard the rumbling above him. Several more pieces of stairwell were dropping downward and what looked to be entire floors. He pulled Sailor Moon out of the way as a few seconds later the entire stairwell collapsed.

He rushed for the doors only to see several minions in the street below, many wounded, but nonetheless there, waiting for him. He slid Sailor Moon to the ground and took up a defensive stance. The minions all turned towards him and let out a battle cry.

Sailor Venus knew she had almost nothing left, she was outnumbered and the enemies above her knew that. They were hesitating…building their powers, seemingly planning to finish her off. She knew they had the time too. She could make a run for one of the other rooftops but they would be more than able to attack her as she did so. She heard the enemy battle cry from below.

Tuxedo Mask…there must be more of them down there waiting for him.

She gave up thinking further and started running for the roofs edge. The creature's headed towards her. She spun and let loose another love chain using the last energy she had available. It wrapped around one of the enemies. It shook trying to dislodge the chain but hovered, gliding downward. It provided just enough support to act as a parachute. They slowly drifted downward. The other enemies drifted to try and catch up with her. She dodged the best she could and neared the ground. The other minions looked up in surprise as Venus hit the ground and swung their comrade at them. They scattered as the minion slammed into the pavement. The other five let out a cry and opened fire, hitting Venus head on. She sank to the ground.

Tuxedo Mask's eyes widened in horror.

A barrage of sword blasts flew skyward and knocked the remaining minions off balance, they all tumbled downward, as a second wave of sword energies hit them hard. Wounded they all hit the ground. A collective Guardian Scout energy attack vaporized the rest as the Guardians emerged from a side street. The remaining minions all turned in surprise but were knocked to the ground as Sailor Earth emerged from the mist behind them. Guardian Earth and Moon wasted little time and racing forward they swung their swords through the grounded enemies. Within seconds they had vaporized as well.

"There could be more…" Tuxedo Mask said.

"We'll keep watch," Guardian Earth said.

Attention soon turned to Sailor Venus who lay unmoving on the ground. Guardian Neptune had slid to her side and was now sitting quiet and unable to speak. Guardian Venus was also sitting beside her…his eyes staring at the ground.

The wind began to blow, and the sun slowly began to peek through the mist as it swirled away revealing the cityscape once again.

Outside the realm of human existence sat the afterlife and Amy was stunned when she stepped into it.

If only I could study this. But there's no time for that. She thought. I have to find D.V. Ayeka, despite her feelings for her brother, was not endowed with Scout powers and thus had no way into the afterlife.

"Oh dear..,another one…" came a voice.

Amy looked up. A guide appeared.

"You are the guide I assume," Amy said.

"Quite true. I must say you scouts are swinging by much more frequently."

"Not by choice."

"I'll believe that. Come with me."

"Where is my brother?"

"That is part of the journey."

Amy accepted this and began to follow the guide down the streets of afterlife Tokyo.

"I must warn you though, while loving someone is enough to voyage to save them, because you are blood relations as opposed to you…know romantic love…the journey is a bit harder…" the guide said.

"I think this whole system of yours is annoying," Amy said. "Where is Hotaru…she came through at the same time I did…"

"Hotaru?" The Guide asked in surprise. "Oh my."

"What do you mean 'oh my'?" Amy asked.

"This is apparently going to be a crazy day at work…" The guide muttered.

Back in Tokyo.

"Now look, I should go after her," Guardian Venus said.

"You're not her true love. I am," Guardian Neptune said.

"This isn't the time to debate this guys," Guardian Uranus said.

"It is Rick, it truly is," Guardian Neptune said. "Someone who loves her a lot must save her, that's how it's supposed to be. Whoever goes through must be the one.."

"I agree," Guardian Venus said.

"Well one of you has to go," Guardian Uranus said.

"But we can't decide that arbitrarily, we need to know who truly is the right one to go," Guardian Neptune said.

"What are you talking about?" Guardian Pluto said. "If you keep arguing neither one of you is going to have her!"

"No they're right," Sailor Earth said. "The voyage into the afterlife is not an easy one. You are presented with challenges, where you must prove your devotion."

"I can prove it," Guardian Venus said.

"You just might," Guardian Neptune said. "But..I don't think you will.."

"I love her," Guardian Venus said.

"No you don't. You don't really understand her," Neptune said. "All she wanted was to see what you were really like under that shell you put up, and you wouldn't let her see it. You didn't realize that all the games she was playing was just to reach that point. You and Mina can be very good friends, but it's not love Yaten."

"And how do you know?"

"I know," Neptune said. "I truly know how she feels. I understand."

Guardian Venus turned away.

"Go...save..her." he said.

Guardian Neptune nodded. Soon he had also headed to the spirit world.

Back in the afterlife.

"This trip will not be an easy one," the guide said. "Your brother is quite a special case."

"I will bring him back," Amy said.

"Then be prepared for what awaits you."

"And just how am I supposed to fight?"

"That is a mystery you will have to learn."

Amy kept moving.

"So..it's you.." came a voice. Amy stopped.

"Coardite..." she said in shock. "How is he here?"

"He is an interloper, we are unable to stop him," the guide said.

Coardite grinned.

"You're helpless without your powers, or your technology," Coardite said advancing.

Amy stepped back quickly.

Just what do I do? She thought. I wonder if he has his powers though. Apparently not.

Coardite jumped at her. She dodged him and dived out of the way rolling into the street. She narrowly avoided a passing car and raced down a sidewalk.

Coardite hurried after her.

"That was smart, but you can only outrun me for so long!"

Just how am I supposed to do this? She thought.

She kept running hoping she could somehow get to her brother or help by heading in the direction the guide had pointed out. Coardite was gaining on her.

"Ah..hello there.." another guide said.

"Where's Mina?" Mike asked.

"Where you would expect her to be," The guide said.

"That's all I need to know."

"Wait a minute!" the guide said catching up to him. "You don't want any more guidance?"

"I've heard all about you guys, you just hang around while I get ambushed by something or another."

"Well that's only partly true," the guide said.

"Yeah, well I'll take my chances just running as fast as possible," Mike said.

Several daimons leapt at him. He dived away, flipped forward, and kept running.

"I knew it," Mike said.

"Yes, but aren't you afraid that you're lack of fighting skill will be a problem?" the guide shouted racing after him.

"I'm very good at dodging!

Another daimon leapt at him.

"Aren't people supposed to help me?" Mike asked.

"It's a very complex set up," the guide said. "I can't explain it to you until you're fully dead."

"I'll pass on that."

More creatures raced after him.

"Ah come on guys..cut it out," Mike said. "Say...are these all the enemies Mina has helped kill?"

"Well..that is correct."

"I didn't know she was that..good.." Mike said. "Personally I think you're whole little system is a little screwed up."

"Oh I suppose you think that it should be a simple matter to allow mortal beings to voyage into the realm of the immortal!"

"Uh..that's not what I meant, but at least it could be better organized."

"We only have so much staff around here!" the guide snapped.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Sort of."

"The other guides are actually mystical I hear, what are you, an intern?"

"That's an insult, I've been doing this for centuries."

"I couldn't tell…"

"Do you want my help or not?" the guide snapped.

"Anytime sparky!" Mike shouted dodging another enemy and racing forward.

"Where are you going Sailor Mercury?"

Amy slid to a stop.

"The..Kisenian flower.." she said in shock.

"Yes..I have returned.." the Kisenian flower replied.

Coardite slid to a stop.

"She's mine," he said.

"Fraid not."

"If anyone shall have her it is us!" came another shout. About ten Argosantes approached.

Amy stood back.

"Just how am I supposed to deal with this?" She said.

"You don't have to," The guide said.

"What?"

"You can just turn back. They cannot harm you then."

"I'm not going to do that."

"Then we'll just have to take care of you," the Kisenian flower said.

"Interlopers!" Sailor Saturn shouted dropping to the ground. "You dare infringe on this sacred human place!"

Amy looked at her in shock. Saturn swung her silence glaive and blasted the enemies away with one shot.

"Returning to this place is not your right!" she shouted.

"Hotaru...I was wondering where you had gone…" Amy asked.

Hotaru turned.

"I am the Sailor of Death, it gives me some more…options in this realm…we'll go together." she said.

Amy nodded.

The two moved forward.

"You kept your powers," Amy said.

"No, these are different powers, powers that I have gained in other ways," Sailor Saturn said. "They are useful though. There are other ways to defeat the enemies of the past though."

"Not without help."

"The mistake made is that of expecting help and not seeking it."

"I didn't know we could."

"The guides are not allowed to say so," Sailor Saturn said. "The rules cannot be taught, only learned. It is strange I know, but it is the way it is."

"Oh." Amy said.

"Come, we will end this now...and no one else can help us."

"But.."

"We cannot go back."

"Why?"

"It is the way things are."

Amy looked at her worriedly.

"Do not fear it," Sailor Saturn said. "We must hurry."

And Mike stood in front of his house.

"I want your help. They're after me...now.." Mike said to the audience assembled in front of him.

"It's interesting," his guide said.

"What is?" Mike asked.

"That you managed to find out the rule."

"Oh…well...I got to thinking, maybe it's a good idea to get some help, and what better place then the Leslie household and its constituent elements."

"You are an idiot Mike, but we will help you," his grandfather said. "I will round up the clan."

"The clan?"

"Oh..yes.." his grandfather said. "Our line stretches back for centuries. They will all stand with you today."

"Excellent," Mike said.

"Just give me a minute," the grandfather said.

"What is he doing anyway?" one of the daimons said standing down the street.

"Well we don't know, but we can't do anything until he starts going after the girl again..." another daimon replied.

"How annoying, let's just wait for him where she is."

"Good idea."

The monsters all hurried off.

Elsewhere.

"Not much farther," Amy said.

"True," Sailor Saturn said.

The two hurried down a street.

A swarm of monsters appeared.

"Be gone!" Sailor Saturn said and blasted them.

"Just how long can you keep that up?" Amy asked.

"A while," Saturn said.

"But why would Greg be where D.V. is?"

"Greg has no deceased relatives in the city, and as a result of the way death is set up he would have to go elsewhere to find some, he has probably logically reasoned, the best way to be found is stick with his brother, but then again there is little logic once one passes to the other realm."

"Guess you're right," Sailor Mercury said.

"You'll go no farther!" Sero shouted appearing in front of them.

"INTERLOPER! ACCEPT YOUR FATE!" Saturn shouted.

"I think not," Sero said blocking her attack.

"You do not have that power!" Saturn shouted.

"But yet I do...did you not think that perhaps other races have different ways to die," Sero said.

"Regardless you are not allowed here!"

"You're here!" Sero shouted.

"I am the Sailor of Death, I may tread into this realm if it pleases me to do so!"

"I care little for you stupid pronouncements!" Sero shouted.

The two scouts stood back.

"I think it's time to deal with this pest," Vincent Patterson said striding forward.

"You a single man think you can fight me?" Sero snapped.

"Sure," Patterson said.

"Very well," Sero said.

The two faced off.

"Is this supposed to happen?" Amy asked.

"No, but it is happening anyway," Saturn said.

"So I see," Amy said.

Sero shot forward an energy sword forming in his hands.

"This is not your realm!" Vincent Patterson said and avoided the attack and swung through Sero. The enemy disappeared.

"I don't understand all this," Amy said.

"You are not meant to," Sailor Saturn said.

"Ladies," Patterson said. "Come with me."

The two followed him down a side street to a small house marked Patterson on it.

"Where D.V. used to live," Amy said.

The two walked inside.

"You understand everything now right?" Lisa Patterson asked.

"I sure do..." D.V. said trying to retain his composure.

"Hey D.V, go ahead and break down, if there was ever a time to do it, it's now," Greg said.

"Yeah..I guess," D.V. said, but still said nothing more and retained a stoic expression.

"Look who I found," Vincent said.

"Oh..you two!" Amy said and hugged them both.

Hotaru smiled at both of them.

"I am glad to see that you are well," she said.

"Hope it wasn't any trouble getting here," Greg said.

"Not for her it wasn't," Amy said.

"I can't stay," D.V. said.

"Hey we know," Vincent said. "You've got your duty. We've got ours. We'll be waiting, but don't be in such a hurry to come back."

"I'll try not to," D.V. said.

"Take care of them girls, they're a little too reckless for their own good," Lisa said.

The two girls looked at each other.

"They do what they do for good reasons," Amy said.

"Yes," Hotaru said. "And they usually don't let us know in advance when they're going to do something foolish like save our lives."

"She's right," Greg admitted.

The others headed out.

"Well..uh..good bye." D.V. said and hurried out the door.

"He'll be fine," Lisa said.

"Yeah," Vincent said.

Mike approached the afterlife version of the spot he and Mina had picked out as their romantic hideaway. A place where he knew she would wait for him.

Yaten would have never found it. He thought.

And there of course the daimons were waiting.

"Ah...I've been expecting you," Mike said.

"You have?" the daimons asked.

"Oh sure," Mike said. "There's something you should know?"

"And that is?" one of the monsters asked.

"I'm not really a very good fighter and all, but my family they've invaded several countries, it was a whole conquest thing from the middles ages on..." Mike said. "So...enjoy."

A horde of Leslie ancestors emerged and went running forward with a battle cry. The monsters hurried off in shock.

"Thanks guys," Mike said and walked forward. Mina was standing on a cliff looking over the sea.

"So you came," she said.

"Yeah, you knew I would."

"I knew you'd try, but how did you?"

"Had help."

"YAH!" the Leslie ancestors said and hurried off.

"Oh..typical," Mina said. "I would expect you'd have a whole bloodline of warriors to help you out."

"Yep," Mike said.

"Shall we go?"

"Of course," Mina said. "You know that I love you."

"Hey. I know. And why do you think I'm here?"

The two shared a kiss before hurrying off to return to reality.

When Sailor Moon's eyes slowly opened several hours later she was lying in a bed in a nearby hospital. The Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask were standing around her, all smiling.

"I feel so tired…" she said and promptly went back to sleep.

Guardian Mercury and Maverick were standing close to each other on the hospital rooftop keeping watch.

"I…." Maverick began. "I wanted to come after you…"

"I know it wasn't possible…" Mercury said. "Thank you though…"

Maverick spun and began to sob as she embraced him. He blushed but could think of nothing else to do.

On another part of the roof Guardian Venus was standing alone, trying to avoid everyone. He still didn't know how he felt, and the speed of the day's events hadn't helped at all. A hand touched his shoulder. He whirled to find himself facing Sailor Venus. She weakly smiled at him.

"You shouldn't be pushing yourself," he said.

"Then come sit with me," she said.

Elsewhere, Guardian Saturn walked down a hallway and finally found Sailor Saturn alone.

"Hotaru…" he began slowly.

"Greg…" She answered.

"Thank you."

"You would have done the same for me."

"Yes, but…"

She grabbed him and pulled him close.

"I'm not emotional enough to show I feel at times," She said and cried as she squeezed him tighter.

"I think you can be plenty emotional…" he said…. "I can't breathe.." he said.

"Yaten, I do like you a lot," Sailor Venus said. "But you and I both know that's it not love."

"I know," Guardian Venus said. "But I'll tell you what…after this is over, I'll let you see what I'm really like okay?"

"I'd appreciate it," Sailor Venus said. "You know Yaten, you are a very cute guy, you just have to work the bugs out of your system. I respect that you were willing to go get me too."

"Yes...well..that's what friends do for each other," Guardian Venus replied.

"You're right," Venus said.

"But..Mina..really? Isn't there anyone better you can find then Mike?"

"Mike's a sweetie, and he speaks my language, he's perfect," Sailor Venus said. "It's just a matter of the two of us becoming compatible."

"But if he's all the things you say he is, wouldn't that make you automatically compatible?"

"Ah, how little you understand," Venus said with a smile. Guardian Venus stared at her.

The sun was slowly setting giving the city a slowly darkening glow.

"I'm sure I'm not the only one that this entire sequence of events bothers," Guardian Earth said walking up to Sailor Uranus, Neptune and Pluto as they stood outside the hospital.

"The Zalians we knew about," Pluto said. "But where those animates came from…that's strange…they almost knew not only what was going to happen but where to find Sailor Moon."

"They're clearly not part of the same alliance though…how could they be?" Uranus asked.

"Perhaps they were all unwittingly maneuvered by someone…else…" Guardian Earth said.

The three outers looked at each other with concern.

It wasn't long after that, that the trucks filled with soldiers started reaching the city and moving throughout it.

"It would appear we have another rebuilding process to go through," General Patterson said as he and General Nagumo drove through the city.

"This has got to be stopped," Nagumo said. "We won't have a city left if this keeps up."

"There will always be a city sir," Patterson said.

"Perhaps…still…I think the good residents have suffered enough," Nagumo replied.

"I do agree with you there."

Outside Sailor Moon's room, everyone except Tuxedo Mask had assembled. He remained at her bedside.

"I don't think it should surprise you all, that something very strange happened today," Sailor Pluto said.

The group all nodded.

"It suggests…that this attack was not only a Zalian plan, but that someone else was involved…someone who knew that the Zalians would weaken us enough for those flying creatures to strike. Someone who underestimated Sailor Venus…" Pluto said.

"Who?" Sailor Jupiter asked.

"I don't know…" Pluto said. "But whoever it is, they're cautious, and dangerous, and I don't think today was their last try."

"It wasn't," Sailor Earth said. "They're hiding themselves well, but I have been able to pick up a stray thought or two, since there are very few other beings around. They are well protected…they know about telepathy enough to block me…"

Sailor Saturn started to use her telepathy as well.

"Whoever it is…they're not done…not even close…" Sailor Earth said.

"Yes…" Saturn added. "That this is all part of the plan…"

"What about what the plan itself is?" Sailor Mars asked.

Both scouts shouted in pain and collapsed towards the ground. Others caught them.

"He knows we were inside his mind…" Sailor Earth said and winced from the shock.

Outside the city limits a lone figure sat obscured by a dense forest of bushes and trees. He stared at the smoke rising from the damaged parts of Tokyo and the smoke still rising from the port. Small plums of smoke were rising from the high rise building that the scouts had used as their base early in the day as well. The figure grinned.

"Perhaps you should be more careful next time, Sailor Earth…Sailor Saturn…" the figure said. A second figure approached him.

"Did your plan work?" the second figure asked.

"They fought off the Zalians and my little winged surprises as well, but had three of their members killed in the process. Not too bad…I would have liked to have seen more deaths. Sailor Moon was very vulnerable, but I could not get to her in time to deliver the death blow…typical scout luck. Best not to reveal myself and continue as planned."

"Won't we have to do much better if we're ever going to defeat them?"

"Yes…much better…but we're getting much better at killing scouts…three in one day…that's impressive…eventually it'll be as easy as crushing leaves…"

With that both figures disappeared into the forest.


End file.
